Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Of course the bigger story is David Ortiz scoring just the 7th perfect score of all time, but I'm going with the ARod sucks angle. You knew I would.

ARod, after leading his position for 8 consecutive years, has lost his banner to our own Mike Lowell at third base. Was Mike Lowell really that much of a better hitter than ARod? No, ARod just sucked at fielding.

So clearly Lowell is worth a 10 year, $300 million contract and ARod will be lucky to get a 3 year deal.

Pat (NYC): Now, I'm really mad at A-Rod, because he's made even Peter Gammons cranky and curmudgeonly! Regarding Pedroia's sacrificing his scholarship at Arizona State, Gammons yesterday wrote: "The sabermetrics guys in their garages never understand these things". What's up with that? What did we do?

Rob Neyer: I don't know, Pat. Most of the sabermetrics guys I know think the world of Pedroia. You should ask Peter, the next time he does a chat.

It's funny because Gammons doesn't do chats!

But seriously, I read this blog post by the esteemed Hall of Famer Sir Peter Gammons and thought the same thing: he's getting cranky. He seems to have these biting remarks a lot lately about "sabermetrics guys" and I don't know where he's coming from. He seems to be turning into all the other old-time baseball writers, hating all the changes and advancements the game is making now, as if it didn't make similar advancements during their heyday.

Gammons has always been a "feel" guy, making educated guesses about awards and free agency, etc, based on feel instead of stats and facts. In my mind, he has become irrelevant. He hasn't and won't become Joe Morgan or Tim McCarver, but it pains me to read his material now and that's sad.

I'm not big on petitions, but this one seems to be a good fit for me. It's the Keep Mike Lowell Petition and as of this writing there are nearly 8,000 signatures.

The write-up is nice and the only point I disagree with is that it's easy to win a Gold Glove. The GG is the biggest joke in baseball, which is why a guy like Derek Jeter has won 3 or 4 and why Rafael Palmeiro won one as a DH.

Mike Lowell should be in a Red Sox uniform. And I don't just say that because they just won a World Series. I was against re-signing Pedro, Damon, and Derek Lowe when the times came because they were all on the downside of their careers and/or injury prone - and, in Derek Lowe's case, overrated.

But Lowell seems to only improve with time and has been more durable than anyone. He thrives in Boston, which is a very hot commodity, and works extremely hard. He epitomizes the "dirt dog" mentality. Just look at his headfirst slide into home plate this weekend.

So Lowell is beyond peak age. So what? There should be exceptions to the rule. In a normal world, I don't think Lowell would command more than 3 years, $36 million. But this isn't a normal world. The problem is the Yankees - they just lost their stud third baseman, for whom they had set aside more than $230 million. They might throw $60 million at Lowell, causing a problem for the Sox.

The Sox will surely not sign Lowell for close to $60 million and no one should expect them to. And no one should expect Lowell to decline such an offer. Unlike Johnny Damon, Lowell never declared that he'd never wear pinstripes. If he chooses to go to New York, we should all respect that decision and applaud him when he's back in Boston.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Before I get to the bullet points, I wanted to comment on ARod opting out of his contract, which was apparently just reported moments ago. I'm quite surprised about this - I thought he'd stay in NY after the season he had. But maybe 2007 was the big "eff you" year for him, like it is for the Patriots right now. "See what I can do?"

Personally, I'm thrilled about it; they've lost the best hitter in the game and there's not much out there with which to replace him. Mike Lowell? Could the Red Sox have a back door bid in on ARod, like they did with JD Drew last year? ARod has to have some serious offers if he opted out of $81 million plus the $150 million the Yankees were prepared to tack on to the end of that contract. I hope not.

Now if we could just get a crappy manager in NY, we'd be all set. Too bad Dusty Baker has already been hired elsewhere.

Onto the bullet points:

During the National Anthem, my wife said it best: "That's one big-ass flag!"

BuckCarver made a big deal out of the infield grass slowing the balls down a lot and even mentioned that Troy Tulowitzki loves it for his defense. Is it possible that this is why he's known so much for his defense - he gets to more balls because their infield allows him to?

David Ortiz had a great pick on a bad throw by Lugo in the second inning. Youkilis was impressed.

Jon Lester is the man. He kept getting out of jam after jam.

Please, please stop playing that Taco Bell "rules to live by" commercial. Both of the guys are annoying and the whole concept is obnoxious and predictable. I actually mute the tv when it comes on. They finally cut the chick and the dog out of some viewings, but they still call them "rules" to live by, even though they only leave one rule in. These things annoy me. I know I'm not alone.

Another thing that needs to stop: the in-game interviews with the managers and pitching coaches. Do they ever say anything worth hearing. No, it just makes you miss key plays.

Wow, that was a fascinating story by McCarver about Hank Aaron's "nervous cough" before every plate appearance. Is this why McCarver gets the job? I mean, that story was awful.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Mike Lowell is cleaning up right now. He is earning a ton of money for himself and I'm happy for him.

I love the music the Red Sox bullpen makes during every game. You could hear it throughout the game. Great stuff.

Lonestar, the band that sang "God Bless America," is garbage. Just awful. And yet 10 million of their albums have been sold. Country fans are idiots. And tone deaf.

Another gimmick on Fox: The DirecTV Home Run Cam. Basically, they just flash those words on the screen during a HR trot. Brilliant.

Bobby Kielty says: "Warm up? I don't need no stinkin' warm up!"

Huh. ESPN and I knew about ARod opting out of his contract before BuckCarver and Fox. Shocker. ESPN.com reported it at 10:50pm and I read the article at 10:52. Ken Rosenthal just reported it at 11:11pm.

Fox is of course making a huge deal out of John Henry typing on his Blackberry and smiling right after Rosenthal announced the ARod opt-out. I'm sure Henry has been text-messaging all game. A guy as rich and involved as he is probably text messages in his sleep.

Ugh. The thought of Lowell playing third base for the Yankees while ARod mans... umm... I mean plays.. the hot corner in Boston makes me sick.

Speaking of being sick, Joe Buck just announced that Eric Gagne is warming up next to Jonathan Papelbon. Not only does the prospect of Gagne entering game 4 in a save situation scare the crap out of me, I also don't want his bad mojo rubbing off on Papelbon.

I like the new nickname "Papajima." It's a keeper.

My son is 3 and a half years old and never gets out of bed in the middle of the night. He walked right out during the bottom of the 8th inning and climbed into my lap and went back to sleep. He must have known they were close! I hope he didn't jinx them.

I hate Joe Buck. "Garrett Atkins has not had an RBI since game 1 of the NLDS." Speaking of jinxes.

The prospect of Papelbon on the mound for the clincher has me downright giddy.

McCarver just pointed out that Buck said earlier that Francona would use Okajima "judiciously" tonight and that's exactly what he did. Judiciously means with good judgment. Are their managers out there who intend to use their pitchers non-judiciously? Oh, never mind.

Did you see that catch Jacoby made? Would Manny have caught that? That scared the crap out of me.

I love non-Yankee World Series celebrations.

More to come Monday morning after this has all settled in.

Rockies fans, you should be very happy with your team. They're young and very talented. I don't think 2007 was a fluke. Plus, I think the Rockies ownership has to spend some money this season to improve the weak spots.

I really hope the Sox finish the series off tonight so I can start going to bed at a reasonable time again. Onto the bullet points, which are limited due to my exhaustion:

McCarver says at the beginning of the game that the Rockies have only moved runners alone with a hit in 2 games in this series - games 1 and 2. Huh. He must have chosen his words wrong, but I can't figure out what he could have meant.

Seriously, can we just eliminate the Keys to the Game and the Scouting Reports? They are stupid and pointless.

And while we're at it, how about the DirecTV Diamond Cam? Another stupid gimmick that does nothing for me.

Troy Tulowitzki continues to look awkward at shortstop. I know the statistics show that he's by far the best SS in the game, but I haven't seen it yet in this World Series.

Where can I get some of those red arm gloves Youk was wearing on the bench?

One of the funniest fan signs I've ever seen in the stands: "Big Papi eats big boogers." It doesn't get any better than that. Then Fox follows that up by showing a woman holding a sign that says "My Favorite Holliday." Lame.

And then they show a fan wearing a Stormtrooper helmet that covered his entire head and it had the Colorado Rockies logo on it. Super lame. I hate Star Wars fanatics.

The Rockies intentionally walk Manny to get to Lowell with the bases loaded. Just ask Troy O'Leary - it's never a good idea to walk the bases loaded.

Manny's slide at home appeared to have been the best and smartest slide ever by Manny. But it looked like the ump got the call right.

Buck and McCarver keep surprising my this postseason by avoiding the obvious baseball cliches. In game 3 they neglected to give us the "Daisuke is helping his own cause" after Matsuzaka drove in 2 with a single.

McCarver on Ellsbury and Pedroia: "The tablesetters tonight have also brought the entree and dessert! Hahaha!"

That's all I've got for random observations from game 3. But let me just say that this team could be a force for a long time. They have the money to go out and get the big free agents and they keep infusing the team with young talent each year from their development system. The team is run extremely well.

Go ahead and complain about Lugo and Drew and any other bad free agent signing, but this team has a lot more guys to be excited about than to hate.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Terry Francona and the management team look like geniuses (genii? Why do some words change like that but others don't? Like anus - shouldn't it be ani? I wonder about these things) right now. They rested Okajima towards the end of the season and now he's become the amazing, lock-down closer we came to expect during the first half of the season. They stuck with Dustin Pedroia during his horrible early season slump and he's going to be Rookie of the Year and one of their postseason MVPs. They stuck with JD Drew through his whole bad season and now he has 11 RBI in 12 postseason games.

Speaking of Drew, I think people can stop calling him "Nancy" now. On a cold October night, he got nailed squarely on the ankle bone by a pitch, shook it off, and got right back in their to produce a couple more hits. The guy is on fire right now.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Well that was a massive beatdown. I’m not sure anyone saw that coming. I actually went to bed after the 7-run 5th inning. Even Eric Gagne couldn’t blow a 13-1 lead.

Speaking of Gagne, has anyone noticed that he has now thrown consecutive perfect innings after the game 2 collapse in the ALCS? I still don’t want him pitching in a close game, but it’s still good to see.

Man, for all the hype Troy Tulowitzki received for his defense, he looked awfully awkward out there in game 1. I can’t be the only one who noticed. There were a couple of line drives that he appeared to time his jump wrong on and he had a ball go into his glove and go back out for a base hit. That should have been an error. Those rallies could have ended earlier if he had made some more plays.

Please, please don't compare Pedroia to Eckstein. The only things that make them similar are their size. Pedroia as a rookie is 10 times the ballplayer Eckstein has ever been. But be prepared for the comparisons, since Eckstein was World Series MVP last year. I'm sure McCarver and Buck will look past the facts and make some comparisons. And I'm sure it'll piss me off.

So far so good for the Sox. This is very enjoyable. I wish I had more time for more thoughtful posts, but I’ve been so busy with helping my mom move lately. Enjoy the games and I’ll try to do a Random Thoughts post for game 3 Saturday night.

My friend Matt called me the other day to see if I wanted to fly out to Denver for games 3 and 4 this weekend. I wasn't so sure I wanted to spend that much money and use the last of my vacation time this early in the year, but I decided what the hell, it's the World Series.

On Monday we waited out the Ticket Debacle on coloradorockies.com for 3 hours before they announced that everything had crashed before more than a few hundred tickets had been sold. Seriously, they couldn't have announced this earlier?

On Tuesday my cousin Michele, who is married to Matt, sat in the virtual waiting room on coloradorockies.com for only 40 minutes before she got in to buy tickets! She picked our seats, in section 134 right behind home plate! Only $250 per ticket, which is an absolute bargain if you've seen the prices on stubhub.com.

That's when things went to hell.

After picking the seats and everything else, the website crashed. No confirmation. Nothing charged to her credit card. Panic time.

Michele went back to the virtual waiting room and got back in fairly quickly. Things were looking up. The seats weren't nearly as good - somewhere in right field - but hey, they're World Series tickets. But it crashed again.

(This is where you hear the telltale Law and Order "dun dun!")

After getting back into the virtual waiting room again, Michele called the Rockies "customer service" number listed on their website and waited for nearly an hour before getting through to a completely useless rep. He told her there was nothing they could do. He was not sympathetic and didn't seem to care that the organization he worked for had completely screwed up the biggest event in their history.

Shortly thereafter, the virtual waiting room announced tickets for games 3 and 4 had been sold out.

So this begs the question: was there a conspiracy? Some say yes - the Rockies were crashing the orders for people who lived outside of a certain zone or for those who lived in New England, so Coors Field was filled with mostly Rockies fans. I think that's silly and ridiculous - there's no way the Colorado Rockies are that smart. I think they're incredibly stupid.

The high of having your tickets behind home plate for the World Series of your favorite team and then the low of having them ripped out of your hands - twice - sucks a big one. I hope some other Sox fans got their tickets and will send me pictures that I can post here. Let me know at redsoxstatsguy@gmail.com.

Meanwhile, Ryan Krug, 29, of Boulder left empty handed after bringing a printout of the tickets he had come close to buying on the Web site. He said the slow moving site timed out after he entered his credit card information but he said team officials told him he couldn't get tickets because he never got a confirmation number.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Rumor has it (Insider required) that the Yankees may be prepared to trade Melky Cabrera, Ian Kennedy, and Chien Ming Wang for Johan Santana.

Interesting idea, except that you can’t be sure anymore what you’re going to get from Johan. After logging more than 225 innings in each of the previous 3 years and then 121 prior to the All-Star Break in 2007, Santana registered a 5-7 record and 4.04 ERA in the second half. I know – he killed my once dominant fantasy baseball team. (Well, him and losing Erik Bedard.)

Santana is obviously the cream of the free agent crop, but could he be tired? Could he have been masking an injury? Add to that the cost: 2 of your projected starting pitchers in exchange for one. With no other good starters available on the open market this fall, unless you’re interested in an aging Curt Schilling, which might actually make sense.

The other rumor mentioned by Rob Neyer in that blog entry was that the Yankees are about to throw a ton of money at Jorge Posada. Great. I hope they do. Posada will be 37 next summer and has about 1400 games at catcher. That’s huge. Jason Varitek has about 1200 and he seems pretty much done. I’m pretty sure the Sox won’t be throwing the money at him when his contract is up after 2008, and he’ll be the same age then as Posada is now.

By the way, rumor has it the Yanks are looking at a 3-year deal for $40 million for Posada. Wow.

With Tim Wakefield probably in line to pitch game 4, Buster Olney brings up an interesting question in yesterday's chat (Insider required):

Wakefield's knuckler... If anybody wants to send in Wakefield's career numbers in Denver, I'll post them, but in general, the conventional wisdom on knucklers is that thin air is bad and thick air is good.

That got me looking up the stats. I'm not sure if this has been mentioned elsewhere yet since I've been too busy to read much, but here goes.

Basically, the answer is that Wake does not have any history at Coors and not much history at the old Mile High: 9.2 innings pitched. 0-2 record. 9.31 ERA, 2.38 WHIP, and a .386 BAA. Yikes.

But that is a seriously small sample size and it all happened prior to 2002. So read into it as you wish.

Monday, October 22, 2007

The Rockies' No. 1 starter is Jeff Francis, who has a striking resemblance to the lead character in the movie "Napoleon Dynamite." Boston's No. 1 starter is Josh Beckett, who is building a case to be ranked among the greatest postseason pitchers of all time, with a record of 5-2, 1.78 in October.

Boston's No. 2 starter is Curt Schilling, who is ranked among the greatest postseason pitchers of all time. Colorado's No. 2 starter, Ubaldo Jimenez, has been in the big leagues about three months.

Tim Wakefield, Boston's likely Game 4 starter, pitched in his first postseason game in 1992. Franklin Morales, who might start against Wakefield, was six years old.

Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek has played in 49 postseason games. Colorado catcher Yorvit Torrealba has a total of 28 career at-bats in the postseason.

Todd Helton is the most experienced member of Colorado's lineup -- and the Rockies nearly moved him to Boston on the eve of spring training in a salary dump.

The Rockies have had more workouts in snow (one) than they've played actual games (zero) the last eight days.

In Games 1, 2, 6 and 7, the Rockies will probably choose their DH from this group: Ryan Spilborghs, Seth Smith, Cory Sullivan and Jeff Baker. And Boston's designated hitter is David Ortiz.

Another miraculous comeback by the Sox. Okay, so it wasn’t miraculous. I think that word is overused. But it was certainly against the odds.

So the Sox are headed to Denver and I’m very close to getting tickets for games 3 and 4 out there this weekend, which would be the greatest event of my sports fan life. It’s all I can think about right now.

The best part of the win last night was Papelbon’s “come hither” look to Varitek after the winning catch; he got down on his knees and beckoned Varitek with his hands, all with a psycho look on his face. We’ve come to expect nothing less from our closer. This guy is the best.

And did you see that catch Coco made? To the deepest part of the park! He looked to be taking the wrong route to the ball, but he got there anyway. And Ellsbury made a very good catch in left, too. What a great game.

The biggest dilemma for the World Series is deciding whom to bench in Denver. Do you bench one of the greatest postseason hitters of all time in David Ortiz, or do you bench the hottest hitter on the team in Youk? I think they both need to be in there. How about playing Youk in left or right and taking JD Drew out? I don’t know; I haven’t given it much thought and I (thankfully) don’t need to make the decision.

Friday, October 19, 2007

Forget about "icing" Josh Beckett by having his ex sing the National Anthem and God Bless America. Josh Beckett is quickly becoming the next Mr. October. And the Red Sox already had the next Mr. October in David Ortiz!

It's extremely difficult to compare a pitcher to a hitter, so you have to take this with a grain of salt.

Josh Beckett, playoff career in 9 games pitched, 8 of which were starts:5-2 record, 1.78 ERA in 65.2 innings, 73 strikeouts, 0.72 WHIP - yes, you read that right, 1 World Series title.

And Beckett's numbers are far more impressive when you consider they've come during the steroid era and his numbers are dramatically better than his career regular season numbers. Reggie's are only slightly better.

And to add to the argument:David Ortiz, playoff career in 46 games:.327/.429/.612, 11 HR, 38 RBI, 1 World Series title.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

I wrote an eight-paragraph post this morning and one of those paragraphs is getting an awful lot of attention:

Someone was kind enough to anonymously post a comment on last night's post, reminding me of something I wanted to mention. Pedroia's slide into first (picture here) was just about as bush league as ARod's slap of Bronson Arroyo in 2004. And yet, Fox didn't even mention it. I was appalled.

That was it.

Yankees fans have taken it and run with it. It was featured on at least a dozen prominent Yankee blogs and forums and used as a crutch for Yankees fans to hold up their waning love for ARod.

Look, I was appalled at the lack of mention by Fox. I was appalled by the play. But that was it. It was just as bush league as ARod's hit, but the situation was nowhere near as serious. In 2004, the Yankees had frittered away a 3-0 series lead down to 3-2 and were about to lose that game. They were down 4-2 in the 8th inning with Derek Jeter on first base. When ARod slapped the ball out of Arroyo's hand, I believe Jeter scored on the play and I definitely remember ARod made it to second base. So now they were only down 4-3 with Sheffield up and a man in scoring position. And all the momentum.

So the umps call ARod out, call Jeter back to first base, and the momentum is gone. The Yanks lose 4-2 and go on to lose the series. Pedroia was the first batter of Tuesday night's game. No one was on base. No one would have scored on the play.

Do I think Pedroia tried to slap the ball out of his hand? Yes, but it also wasn't as blatant as ARod's. All I was saying with my post was: Yes, I hate ARod and think he's bush league, but I see the same things happening with my Red Sox from time to time, like Manny's home run stylings.

I know Yankee fans and bloggers will probably excoriate me now, but this is how I feel. If I had felt as strongly as they wanted me to feel, it would have gotten its own eight paragraph post, not just 1/8th of a post.

I went out for lunch today and managed to listen to Terry Francona's interview with Dale and Holley on WEEI. It disturbed me, to say the least.

Michael Holley asked Francona (all paraphrases) "Terry, what do you say to the critics who say your loyalty to your regular players is stubborn and will prevent this team from advancing?" to which Francona replied, "We need to stay consistent and just play" and of course more, but you get the point.

"We need to stay consistent and just play."

This, from the manager of a team who has just lost 3 straight games in the ALCS and is on the brink of elimination. Nothing is working right now offensively. When I used to be a salesman I lived by the old adage "If you keep doin' what you're doin', you'll keep gettin' what you're gettin'." This applies perfectly to the Sox right now. If Francona keeps trotting out the same lineup and keeping things "consistent," he'll keep getting the same results.

As a salesman, when something that had previously worked stopped working, I changed. I adapted. I altered my sales strategy. Things don't last forever, and that includes sales strategies and successful lineups. I was an extremely successful salesman because of my ability to adapt; not just from sale to sale, but within a sale. Francona needs to start adapting within a game instead of from game to game or series to series.

I ended up watching the first 3 innings before I nodded off last night, but I didn't take any notes like I typically would.

Someone was kind enough to anonymously post a comment on last night's post, reminding me of something I wanted to mention. Pedroia's slide into first (picture here) was just about as bush league as ARod's slap of Bronson Arroyo in 2004. And yet, Fox didn't even mention it. I was appalled.

Also, McCarver's scouting report on Paul Byrd said "Guts match stuff." What the hell does that mean? I can't even speculate on this.

Wake was mowing them down through the first 3, making me a believer. I was in the Pitch Wake/Rest Beckett camp, thinking Beckett on regular rest would be best. I felt that Beckett on short rest may have given a small edge over pitching Wakefield last night, but it wasn't worth the risk.

I am also firmly in the Bench Drew and Coco/Start Jacoby and Kielty camp. Coco and Drew are done. They're awful. Is Francona only keeping them in out of loyalty? And to whom? Loyalty to the players or to Theo Epstein? It's infuriating. Francona did such a great job all year and now he's turning into Grady Little.

I should be back with more Random Thoughts from game 5 late tomorrow night. I'm all rested and feeling better.

EDIT: I also wanted to comment on Manny's "heroic" home run. What was he thinking, raising his hands and not running, as if his HR was the series-winning shot? They were still down by 4 or 5 runs! Someone's going to hit him in the face to teach him a lesson. He's making a habit of this and people, including Red Sox fans, are getting sick of it.

SECOND EDIT: This entry has received a ton of pub due to my view on Pedroia's play. A lot of people are coming from a Yankees Fans forum on livejournal.com, but I am unable to view what's been said. Can someone please fill me in? Send an e-mail to redsoxstatsguy@gmail.com.

As painful as this may be, this is the best job I've ever read about recalling the dreaded game 7 in 2003.

I've read a lot of blog posts about it and no one seems to get every detail right like that one does. No one remembers how lights-out Timlin and Williamson were and how both were ready to come in for the 8th.

The writer does forget to mention that even Pedro himself thought he was done - I recall him shaking his teammates' hands after the 7th (and 100+ pitches).

And anyone who watched the Sox that season as religiously as I did knew - knew - that when Grady came out to visit Pedro in the 8th, Pedro was not getting pulled. Grady pulled this garbage all season, costing the Red Sox innumerable wins. I was watching the game with my father-in-law, who is not a big baseball fan at all but knows the basics, and when Grady stepped out of the dugout he said, "There, he'll pull Pedro now." I immediately replied, "No, not Grady. He'll talk to him, pat him on the ass and go back to the dugout." My FIL was shocked when I was right.

Reporter 1: "Dusty, what are your goals in your first season as Reds manager?"Dusty: "You know, nothing different from last year. Business as usual."Reporter 2: "But don't you want to improve on anything? Don't you want to win?"Dusty: "Let's not get our expectations too high here, folks. I mean, seriously. This is the Reds we're talking about."

Then he goes on to talk about how he wants Adam Dunn to stop walking and clogging up the bases.

Seriously, though - who comes up with these headlines? Do Reds fans actually think to themselves, "Wow! Dusty really wants to win!" and then click on the link to hear his quotes?

That song couldn't fit better with the current situation the Sox are in. It's time to put Jacoby Ellsbury in the lineup. As I so eloquently put it in last night's Game 3 Random Thoughts entry, JD Drew sucks. And Coco Crisp isn't much better. I'd be happy (and I'm sure I'm not in the minority here) if Jacoby replaced either of those guys.

After Manny, Ortiz, and Lowell, the Sox are something like 0 for 276 this series with negative 12 RBI. They need a change. And a spark. Jacoby Ellsbury is the man to provide it.

Don't tell me you disagree.

And on a side note, how about a rainout tonight to allow Beckett to pitch games 4 and 7?

Monday, October 15, 2007

Joe Buck, Master of the Obvious: "If they don't bring Mike Lowell back next season, they'll have a definite hole over at third base." Unless, of course, they sign someone else.

McCarver goes back to his crap from a previous game, which I blogged about in a previous game. He says Mike Lowell never used to go up the middle or to the opposite field, which I pretty definitively proved otherwise.

After Manny fakes a tagup and Lofton has a nice throw to the plate, Lofton looks at Manny and gives him the Dikembe Mutombo finger wag. That made me laugh.

Sox had Westbrook on the ropes early with the bases loaded and no outs, and they failed to score a run. They suck.

Those Dane Cook commercials about the NLCS are a little late.

Trot Nixon is a fatass. He always had a gut in Boston, but man is he fat now. He looks like a beer league softball player.

Why was Manny credited with a hit when his "hit" hit Ortiz? It should be more like a fielder's choice. Strange rule.

Apparently Tim McCarver didn't get the memo that the gyroball doesn't exist.

Hafner gets pissed about a strike call and can be clearly seen saying "That was f***ing s**t." (This is still a family blog) McCarver says, "You could read Hafner's lips - he said that was outside." Was Timmy being funny?

FoxTrax SUCKS. That stupid gimmick is ridiculous. Fox always has that stuff.

Dick's Sporting Goods is not located at dicks.com. Trust me.

Youk needs a headband.

What's up with the catchphrase for the Indians? "It's Tribe time now"? That's horribly lame. How about TRIBElieving? You know, like Try Believing? Of course, if the Sox win, we'd turn it into Tribe Be Leavin'. But hey, it's better than It's Tribe Time Now. What garbage.

JD Drew sucks.

Top 9. Varitek up. McCarver: "Borowski really needs to make Varitek hit to get on here." He even repeated it. Is McCarver trying to come up with a new way of saying the pitcher needs to throw strikes?

I'm sticking with my Sox in 7 prediction. It's not the end of the world to be down 2-1. See ALCS, 2004.

Steve Phillips: The Rockies continue to roll, and it looks like the Indians will make it interesting. What's on everybody's minds?

RSSG: Should my 3-year old son get a flu shot this fall? I’ve heard they’re very beneficial, especially for a kid his age, but then you hear about all the people who get the flu shot and then have the flu for a week. What a conundrum! Oh, is this the wrong chat for this?

Chris (CT):Steve, is Daisuke going to get it done tonight? Will he stop nibbling and throw strikes?

Steve Phillips: I'm looking for him to have a good outing, but I also think Jake Westbrook will pitch well. The game will be decided by the bullpens, I think, which we have seen will create an interesting matchup, as both teams' bullpens are effective. I can't imagine Eric Gagne getting the ball, though, in any critical situation for the Red Sox.

RSSG: We’re all “looking for him to have a good outing.” Does that mean he will? Can you guarantee it? And why would you ever think Westbrook would have a good outing? Sox players sport something like a .977 batting average (okay, maybe a little lower, but not much) against him in the last 3 years. And it’s not like he pitched particularly well against the Yankees, even though he didn’t give up many runs and got the win.

Bernie (Boston):Hi Steve, it seems to me the only thing that can cool down the Rockies might be their own torrid pace. If they sweep, they would then be sitting around for quite a while--what do you think?

Steve Phillips: I tend to agree with you that having eight or nine days off may not be the best thing for a hot team. That being said, nothing seems to be stopping the Rockies at this point. I'm sure they would rather keep playing heading into the World Series, but I don't expect they would want to take a couple of losses and risk not getting into the World Series. Either way, they're going to be a very tough team to beat.

RSSG: This was a good point from our own Bernie and Steve actually gives a good answer, even if he veers into the stupid for a moment.

Steven (Indianapolis, IN):What are your thoughts on the Reds choice of Dusty Baker as their next manager?

Steve Phillips: I've always been a big Dusty Baker fan, as he is his players' biggest cheerleader. He can build players up, which is important to maximize their potential. He will only be as good, though, in Cincinnati, as the pitches he has on the roster. Hopefully they'll upgrade the pitching this offseason and give him a chance to win.

RSSG: Anyone who knows anything about baseball knows that Dusty Baker is an awful manager. Except Steve Phillips, who thinks Dusty will be good because he’s a good cheerleader.

Steve Phillips: Having worked with Dusty at ESPN, I like him even more now than I did before. I think he is a thoughtful, intelligent baseball man, and a great person.

RSSG: A good cheerleader and a great person. Great. Look for 100 wins for the Reds in 2008!

Jacob (Amherst):Is Clint Hurdle lucky or has he actually progressed into being a good manager? Every move he makes seems to have paid off during this stretch.

Steve Phillips: I think Clint Hurdle is doing a very good job managin his team. He's trusting his players and trusting the matchups, and the results certainly are there. I've known Clint for a long time dating back to his days as a minor league manager with the Mets. He's come a long way and I'm happy for him and his family that he's having success.

RSSG: At one point late in the season, the Rockies were 76-72, a mediocre team. They’ve now won 20 of 21. A lot of that is luck. But they’re God’s team, so they have that going for them, which is nice.

Colin (Yonkers):Steve, as a Yankee fan, should I be worried about Hal and Hank?

Steve Phillips: I wouldn't worry just yet. I think it's a good sign that they're willing to take the time to hear the front office staff's opinion before rushing in to any decision on Joe Torre. This first decision will tell a lot about who they are and how they will run the Yankees in the future. I think the right decision for the Yankees is to keep Joe Torre. It'll be interesting to see their perspective.

RSSG: Steve, can you give us any insight on why you think Joe Torre is the right manager for the Yankees? I mean, they haven’t advanced past the ALDS since their epic ALCS collapse in 2004 and haven’t won a World Series since 2000. Why shouldn’t they go with someone else? And if they did, who would you choose?

Buzzmaster: Sorry folks, we are having some technical problems. The chat will resume shortly.

RSSG: Sorry… I guess I created too much thinking for Steve.

Grant (NYC):Steve, Can you explain how the "playoff share" system works? Since I have no real stake in the game when it comes to the NLCS, I am pulling for the Rockies because they voted to give a share to Michael Coolbaugh's widow.

Buzzmaster: The players on each team get a percentage based on where their team finished. The players vote as to which players and staff get shares of the allocation. Some get 100 percent, while players who came in at the trade deadline, for instance, get voted a percentage by their peers. The Rockies made an extraordinary gesture that speaks volumes as to their character.

RSSG: The 2004 Red Sox voted a playoff share for just about everyone who was involved with the 2004 season, including Pedro’s little friend. And yet they’re universally despised outside of RSN.

Steve (Hopkinton, MA):Steve, Does the post season stats for Manny finally make the Sox appreciate him and stop trying to trade him?

Steve Phillips: Well, Manny is a tough one because he does do things that can disrupot the chemistry of a team because he often times wants to be treated by different rules. But he is not malicious in anything that he does and in my opinion is well worth the headaches that come with him. He is one of the best hitters in the history of the game, and the numbers prove that. He is a first ballot Hall Of Famer. The time that he missed during the season this year, may actually be the difference between the Sox winning the series or not. He looks very fresh and is locked in at the plate. The Red Sox and their fans will probably never fully appreciate his greatness because of his quirks. That king of appreciation will probably take place 20 years from now when fans look back on all that he has done.

RSSG: I’d love to be King of Appreciation. How great of a job would that be? You’d just be doling out happiness all day.

As for Manny, I don’t believe we’ve seen any trade rumors for Manny for quite some time now. Everyone appreciates Manny; it’s just that he doesn’t always hustle, he always has phantom injuries, and he’s a terrible fielder. He’s always hit well, including in the postseason (WS MVP, anyone?). Steve’s answer is stupid.

Brian (Hartford, CT):Because Beckett only threw 80 pitches in Game 1 through 6 innings, there was talk of him being able to take the ball on short rest in game 4, and again on full rest for game 7. If the Sox lose tonight, what is the likelihood that they will get desperate and actually consider this an option?

Steve Phillips: I would be very surprised if they bring him back on short rest. He is a great pitcher, but history indicates that even great pitchers coming back on short rest tend not to be succesful. It is not like the Red Sox have a slouch pitching in Game 4 as Wakefield had a very good season this year. If think their best chance is to go with Wakefield in Game 4 and bring back a fresh Beckett in Game 5, regardless of tonight's outcome.

RSSG: A “very good” season for Wakefield? I seem to remember his final numbers being average at best. Yes, I just looked them up and he was below average. In fact, his post-All-Star ERA was 5.25 and he allowed a .283 avg during that time. But I agree with Steve’s answer, overall.

Justin (USC):I read youropinion that the Mets and A-Rod are not a fit?? What then do the Mets need to do and whom do you see them going after?

Steve Phillips: The Mets need pitching help and outfield depth and a second baseman. Beltran, Reyes and Wright are the core, Gomez and Milledge can be used as some sort of rotation in the outfield, but I think they need a veteran presence there. They may try to resign Alou, but there are always health issues there. But the Mets' failures are more a result of their pitching. Delgado had a tough year but I expect him to be better in 08. Reyes trailed off a bit, but I think he will learn from this year and put together an entire season next year. It looks like Glavine will not be back. And there are questions as far as El Duque and Pedro. The Mets should be patient, however, and see how the Santana situation plays out.

RSSG: Yes, lots of obvious stuff here. But all Steve offers is they should “see how the Santana situation plays out.” Yeah, Johan will fix all of their problems. That’s all they need.

Mikey, Wildwood, NJ:Please tell me the Red Sox don't get ARod. Papi-Arod-Manny in the middle of their line-up, even for a year, with their pitching would be a Yankee fan's nightmare.

Steve Phillips: The RedSox are an interesting canddiate there, because at some point they are going to be free of Manny's $20 million salary. That is a pretty big line item, that would certainly eat up the majority of Arods salary. It would make a very interesting dynamic in the rivalry. I do not beleive it is part of the grand plan. But Theo has been unconventional in the past. I believe that the Gaints, Dodgers, Angels, White Sox, and Cubs are more likely suitors.

RSSG: This might be a record for spelling errors in one answer for Steve. He’s right about the teams who will pursue ARod the most, but he forgets the biggest one: the Yankees! And just because the $20 million would “eat up the majority of ARod’s salary” doesn’t make it a good investment.

Patrick (Brooklyn, NY):Was this just an off-year for Matsui or do you think he's on the decline?

Steve Phillips: I think Matsui was nagged by a lot of injuries this year. To some extent it impacted his performance. Keep in mind that he did hit 25 HR and drove in 103 runs. His second half was .298 14 HR and 50 RBI. His season was not that far off from his career averages. He is still a good clutch hitter and a threat in that lineup. The real challenge for the Yankees next year will be finding time for both Damon and Matsui with Giambi at DH.

RSSG: Finding time for Damon? The guy is done. They’ll be lucky if they can’t find time for him.

Mike (Columbus, OH):Who do you think is going to win tonight? What kind of game will it be?

Steve Phillips: I think the Red Sox will win a 6-4 type game. I suspect it will be decided late in the game against the bullpen.

RSSG: See, I think it’ll be more of a higher scoring game, like a 10-7. I can’t say who will win. I honestly have no clue. But I also think the starting pitchers will decide it. Both guys are completely unpredictable.

Travers, SF, CA:Any chance Andruw Jones ends up in SF as they're only power for next year?

Steve Phillips: I think there is a chance. I think the Giants will rebuild and they have a major slot in their budget and they need power. A center fielder that can cover a lot of ground is critical in that park. It is a good backup plan if the Giants cannot land A-Rod.

RSSG: I’d love to see 2 of the most overrated players go to SF in 2 of the worst contracts in the history of baseball. What a great story that would be! And Andruw doesn’t cover all that much ground anymore. Do some research.

Ernie (Ann Arbor):A life long White Sox fan. What can I expect this Winter as far as moves go?

Steve Phillips: I think the White Sox will be aggressive. Kenny Willaims tends to target certain players and do whatever he can to close the deal. It will be an active offseason as they try to retool the pitching and offense. Expect the unexpected as Williams tries to bring back some excitement to White Sox fans.

RSSG: “Expect the unexpected” has to be the dumbest saying ever. And I love how Steve puts a little jab in that the White Sox need to retool pretty much the entire team.

Howard(ColumbiaSC):Could you see the Yanks trading Wang & Cabrera to Minn for Santana and then signing Rowand for CF

Steve Phillips: That is not enough for Santana. I am much more willing to talk is you offer me Wand and Canoe. Otherwise I will shop around and find the most desperate team in the mix. Who knows what the Red Sox are willing to do. I will call and find out especially now that I know the Yankees have interest.

RSSG: Good call. Who knows what the Sox are willing to do? I do. I don’t believe they’ll attempt to acquire Santana. Their young pitching is so good that they’d prefer the young guys locked up for 6+ seasons. Their starting pitching is already so strong. I love Johan, but they won’t go after him.

I will also say this — all game long (because of my Cleveland paranoia) I was sure the Indians would lose Saturday. Absolutely sure. It was that feeling in the pit of your stomach, and it was there for all 73 hours (time actually stands still when Rafael Betancourt pitches, so it was even longer than 73 hours) … UNTIL … Eric Gagne came in from the bullpen.

A few years ago, I went to the Olympics in Greece when my oldest daughter, Elizabeth, was only two years old. I was away from her for three weeks, and it was awful. For three weeks, I thought about how much she was changing, how much I was missing, how bad a father I was, how desperately I missed her. And then, finally, the Olympics ended, and I took the long plane ride, and then another, and finally I arrived at the airport, and I walked on the concourse, and there she was, mt Elizabeth, and she ran into my arms and shouted “Daddy” and it was just about the best feeling I’ve ever felt.

Yeah, that’s just about how happy I was to see Eric Gagne.

Well, Joe, that's about how happy we'd be to see Borowski in a close game. Okay, maybe not that happy. Maybe Cleveland doesn't have a reliever as bad as Gagne.

I like Amelie Benjamin a lot. Besides being very attractive in a cute, bookwormish kind of way, she seems to know her stuff. That’s why I hope she didn’t make the choice of the headline and subheadline (whatever that’s called) on this article.

“He’s ready to step forward.” No kidding. He’d better be. I’d hate to see a headline that read “He’s not sure he can handle it” or “He’s concerned about straining his groin.”

“Matsuzaka next in line, hoping to meet challenge.” Even more crap there. Someone else must create the headlines, like the Editor or Headline Creator Guy.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

I trash Dane Cook and those "There's only ONE.... OCTOBER!!!" promos quite often, as you know if you read this blog often. Saturday Night Live apparently feels the same way, as does the rest of America. Here's the clip, which is hilarious.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Eric Karros was pretty darn good in the pregame booth. Kevin Kennedy: not so much. And Jeanne Zelasko, please exit stage left and take Dane Cook with you.

I've never noticed sweat stains under a baseball players armpits before, but Schilling was sporting some serious pit stains while he was warming up. Don't tell me you didn't notice.

James freaking Taylor doing the lineup intro for the Sox? That was awful. You wanna talk about awkward tv, that's right up there. "Batting 5th: Mike Lowell. Nice guy." He stammered more than a 7th grader with acne asking the hottest girl to dance.

Leadoff batter Dustin Pedroia strikes out on a ball that bounced at the plate. My first thought: "Shit." Looks like a tough night against Carmona (pronounced "Camona" for the first few innings by McCarver).

McCarver: "Carmona, wearing #55, the speed limit." Only for old people like you, Tim.

McCarver tries to make some analogy of Youkilis being an 8-hole hitter, hitting in front of the pitcher, but fails to mention that it's an analogy. It was quite confusing and wouldn't have even made much sense as an analogy.

Prior to this game, Ortiz has reached base in 29 of 35 plate appearances. Wow.

"'Til Death" is still on tv? I had no idea. And those commercials with Brad Garrett smiling at the camera are creepy. He was hilarious on "Raymond," but I can't stand to watch him in anything else.

McCarver is talking about which teams Schilling might sign with in the offseason and says he "could go back to the Dodgers." Strange, I didn't know Schilling had ever played for the Dodgers.

JD Drew grounds out and McCarver says, "You might call that an out, but it was a good approach." Yes, I might call that an out.

Did anyone else notice something white poking out from under Carmona's uniform on his shoulder? Strange...

Why does Fox's audio keep going in and out? They suck.

Dane Cook. Ugh.

Coco on first, Lugo at the plate. McCarver states matter-of-factly that Lugo will be bunting here. I immediately roll my eyes. This guy doesn't know anything about baseball. Coco Crisp is one of the best baserunners in the league and the Red Sox hate "productive outs." They bunt once in a while, but they will almost always send Coco instead of bunting. Sure enough, Coco steals.

Again, I have that desire to rent Transformers. This is getting strange.

Manny: 3 bases loaded at-bats, 3 walks.

McCarver: "Mike Lowell drove in more RBIs... errr, runs... than any other Boston third baseman." The way he worded it was funny, as if there were a lot of other 3B this season. I'm pretty sure he meant in Boston history, but whatever. Lowell also had more RBIs than any other Boston player this year.

No Stephen King sighting through 3 innings. Did he get run over on his way to the park?

McCarver and Buck couldn't tell Daisuke and Okajima apart during a shot of the bullpen. They probably wouldn't be able to tell apart CC Sabathia and Kenny Lofton, either.

Sox are up 3-1 and they're talking about Mark Shapiro saying this weekend that silence at Yankee Stadium is very satisfying, to which McCarver says, "And it's silent here right now." Huh?

Of course, next batter Jhonny Peralta immediately silences Fenway with a 3-run homer.

So is Carmona's sinker soft and light or hard and heavy? I can't remember.

Joe Buck made a "more cowbell" reference? Could he be more hip than we thought? Nahhh....

I miss Travis Fryman. I collected all his rookie cards, thinking they'd be worth something some day.

Fox played "Dirty Water after the 5th inning?!? I immediately wrote on my notepad: "Dirty Water jinx?"

McCarver makes a lot of "factual" statements that are not based on any fact. They're his opinion that he tries to pass off as fact. Tim McCarver is the biggest tool in broadcasting. That is a fact.

Okajima warming up in the bullpen during the 6th. McCarver: "It would be a rare feat for Okajima to come in during the 6th inning." The dictionary defines "feat" as "a notable achievement." Interesting.

Joe Buck is obsessed with the sound the ball makes off the bat on a home run. He thinks it makes a different sound. If you close your eyes and just listen to a game thinking that, you'd think there were a lot of home runs. The ball makes that sound on foul balls, line drives, ground outs, etc.

Dane Cook: "You wanna see one team all after one cause? The Rockies!" Apparently the Red Sox, Indians, and DBacks are all after individual achievements and not the World Series.

I'll leave this one up to FJM. They always do these things better than I.

Game still tied 6-6 in the 8th. Papelbon warming up. McCarver says, "You're probably sitting at home wondering if Papelbon has ever had a 6 out save." Well no, Tim, we're not, because if he were to come in right now he would not be in line for the save. McCarver then says, "No. He has never had a 6 out save." You are correct (or, more accurately, Fox's statisticians are), but Papelbon pitched at least 2 innings on 7 different occasions in 2006 and 4 times in 2005.

Good Lord, Dusty Baker signed with the Reds. Good luck with youryoungpitchers, Reds fans. Do these teams not follow baseball history? Do they not Google new hires? Come on, 4th result down is a little website called "Fire Dusty Baker." The 6th is "Dusty Baker's racist remarks." 7th is a different "Fire Dusty Baker." And that's just the first page. Ahh, hell, I'm just going to leave this up to FJM again. That's a lot of good reading on FJM's Dusty Baker tag. I highly recommend it. Adam Dunn is gonna have to go because he "clogs the bases" with all those walks.

Hey, JT is still here! Justin Timberlake, you ask? No, James Taylor. Joe Buck has taken to calling him JT. Definitely hip.

12:10am. Need to be up around 6am. No nap times available all day Sunday. Top 9. Game tied, 6-6. Arg. Need sleep. I hope Cleveland brings in Borowski in the bottom of the 9th.

My Pats/Cowboys prediction: Pats 38-10. No joke.

Earlier in the game, Fox showed a graphic showing Travis Hafner's nickname, Pronk, came from being a "half project, half donkey." Now Joe Buck says, "half prospect, half donkey." Which is it?

Wedge just removed Hafner from the game as the game heads into extras and replaced him with Josh Barfield. Seems like an odd move. We'll see.

Barfield immediately steals second and McCarver tries to compare it to the steal Dave Roberts had in game 4 of the 2004 ALCS. Stupid, stupid Tim McCarver. The Sox were down a run at that point in the game and down 3-0 in the series.

So now the Indians are without their best hitter, assuming the game continues after the 9th. Stupid move.

I love how McCarver pronounces it "Ellsberry." It's so endearing.

10 pitches so far to Youk in the 9th. You get the feeling that he's thinking, "I do this all the time. I'm going to win this battle. I could do this all night."

Nope. 12:45pm. I need sleep. What kind of Sox fan am I, right? Go ahead and ream me out in the comments. I hope this game goes 18 innings so I look like the smart one.

Friday, October 12, 2007

No small talk - straight to the bullet points, and any time I've made it bold, that's where McCarver put very strong emphasis:

It was nice to see Tim McCarver colored his hair to match Joe Buck's. It's always good when they're on the same page for the first playoff game of the year.

I think Joe Buck and Ryan Seacrest have a lot in common - both are everywhere you don't want them to be and both are smug douchebags.

McCarver starts us off with a good McCarverism, saying "good catchers encourage the pitcher to shake them off," then doesn't really explain why. I've got nothing.

McCarver after Pedroia's line drive right back at Sabathia: "Pedroia hit it back at CC Sabathia harder than CC pitched it to him!" I didn't understand what was so amazing about this.

McCarver, explaining Youkilis' batting stance: "... Youkilis fingers the barrel of the bat!" Tim is very excited about this.

One of the first promos shows.... FRANK CALIENDO! Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is Fox! Has he taken over the world?

Ortiz has a base hit to right and Sizemore is picking up the ball as Youkilis is rounding second. Youk wisely decides to stay at second because even Johnny Damon would have thrown him out (okay, maybe not) and Manny is due up with just 1 out. McCarver: "Any other centerfielder in the AL and Youkilis goes to third base." Ummm... no. Sizemore has an average arm. Check the scouting report. Any smart baserunner stays at second there. Stop trying to analyze things that don't need analysis.

Of course, next batter Manny Ramirez has a base hit and they show Sizemore one-hopping his cutoff man from shallow center.

Manny makes a great catch in the second and Joe Buck makes the obligatory "Manny being Manny" reference. I have no idea why he chooses this time to make that reference. It makes no sense.

When will Dane Cook go away? Good Lord!

Cook very excitedly claims that no one outside of Arizona picked the DBacks to go this deep into the playoffs. Do some research, Dane. Rob Neyer picked them to lose to Cleveland in the World Series and 6 out of 10 Baseball Prospectus analysts picked them to go to the postseason. And why does Dane Cook have to be so over-the-top excited?

For some reason I have this sudden temptation to rent Transformers. I'm not sure why.

There's only ONE.... OCTOBER!!!

Manny goes down 0-2, then takes 4 straight balls for a bases loaded walk. I kept waiting for McCarver to throw out the obligatory "Nowhere to put him," but he refrained. Color me impressed.

Mike Lowell bloops a hit to right field. Always the overanalyzer, McCarver spews, "Mike Lowell used to be a pull hitter, but since coming to Fenway, he has taught himself how to hit to right field." Has he, Tim? If you populate that spray chart each year (and choose Pro Player Stadium for each year prior to 2006), you'll see that he used to spread the ball out a lot more than he did in 2007. He was more of a pull hitter in 2007 than he ever has been. Do your effing research.

McCarver sagely points out that CC has had "unusual bouts of wildness" in 2007's playoffs. Well, the stats don't bear that out. Firstly, the Sox and Yankees are the most patient bunch of hitters in MLB. So you'd expect a tougher time against them. And what about CC's history against these clubs? Strangely, Sabathia had not faced the Yankees in the past 4 seasons! When he faced them in 2003, he was wild: 1.38 WHIP and 5.54 ERA. From 2004-2006 his ERA against the Sox was over 5. A little wildness against these teams is to be expected. Do. Your. Research.

McCarver boldly states that Francona is the manager of the year. Sorry, wrong again (see the bottom of that post).

Ken Rosenthal jumps in here and says Eric Wedge should be manager of the year, with Francona second, because the Cleveland payroll is so low. How is that in his control? Shouldn't the argument be that Cleveland's GM is exec of the year? To me, the top manager is the manager who most helps his team outperform projections. Strangely, ESPN had the Sox with just 86 wins in the preseason, meaning I might be wrong about Francona. But everyone else had them with nearly 100. But in most projections, the Angels were projected to be the AL West champs. So out goes Mike Scioscia (how the hell do you spell that?).

Do managers ever say anything interesting during these stupid interviews?

Speaking of which, Joe Buck says to Eric Wedge, "I know it's cliche, but I'm going to guess that your team won't lay down and play dead now that you're down 4-1." Wedge would have instantly gained my MOY vote if he had said, "Well actually, yes. We're kind of hungry and want to go to Applebee's. I think we should just pack it in and save our energy for tomorrow night. Beckett's just too good. We'll see you guys tomorrow night." And then laughed. That would have been funny.

McCarver is fascinated by the fact that Eric Wedge owns a batting cage in Boston, even though Wedge played in Boston's system for a total of 6 seasons. McCarver: "That batting cage is called.... Strike 1!" He was very excited about this.

Joe Buck says Kenny Lofton has had an amazing career. No. Sorry. Kenny Lofton has had a very good career. Manny Ramirez has had an amazing career. Big difference.

They cut to The Face of Red Sox Nation, Stephen King, and he's READING A BOOK?! Sacrilege.

David Ortiz goes down 0-2 and then draws a walk. 2 "gutsy" at-bats now from Manny and Ortiz.

Fox cuts to a shot of Sox owner John Henry and half of someone else's face. That someone else appeared to be Bob Kraft, owner of the Patriots. But Fox apparently didn't find that important or interesting enough to show us. We get 1/2 of Kraft. They probably didn't know.

So much for the Bobby Kielty haters. Big 2 run base hit.

Kielty ends up on 2nd on the rundown play... and is promptly shown yawning standing on second. Get him some amphetamines!

I stopped watching in the 6th so I could watch last night's CSI. Sue me. This game just felt out of reach for Cleveland like game 1 of the ALDS felt at 4-0. Beckett is in command right now and he's pissed that everyone's picking CC for Cy Young. I'm sure there will be plenty of arguments after this series about when the voting should take place.

As anyone who reads this blog regularly knows, I hate Tim McCarver. I am bound by this hatred to post anything that trashes him, like the video below.

It's a short video, maybe 2 minutes, and takes about a minute to really get going, but it's really funny. I especially like the SAP part. But it made me wonder: what if you switched over to SAP and it was McCarver's voice? That would be a nightmare! Kind of like when George Costanza bought the Risk Management book on tape and it turned out to be his voice.

Red Sox Monster, one of the best Red Sox blogs out there and the only one I find the time to frequent, has put together another great Red Sox blogger roundtable for the ALCS. It's another great read, like a discussion between Sox fans about why they're going to eke out this series against Cleveland. Some good thoughts there.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

The other day on WEEI, Tony Maz whined on and on about how sick he was of Red Sox/Yankees and Yankees/Red Sox. He was sick of the whole thing and didn’t want an ALCS matchup between these two clubs.

No one agreed with him.

Who would, other than fans of other teams? If you are a Yankees or Red Sox fan, you want to see these two teams facing off. It’s must-see tv. The two most storied franchises in baseball – and maybe all of sports. I know I don’t miss any of the games played between them. They’re always major events for me – I buy food and drinks specifically for the occasion or go hang out with the guys to watch the game. Even fans of other teams can’t deny these two teams always make for good baseball.

But Tony Maz is sick of good baseball. He wants “something new.” Well, he got it. Red Sox/Indians in the ALCS. Am I excited? Sure. My team is one of the 4 remaining teams. But I don’t hate the Indians like I hate the Yankees. In fact, I really like the Indians. A lot. Grady Sizemore is one of my favorite baseball players. Trot Nixon was my favorite player back in the late-‘90s and earlier part of this century. I like Jhonny Peralta, Casey Blake, CC Sabathia, Fausto Carmona, etc. They’re a fun team to watch, and yes, I’m scared of them.

But the Yankees! How can you not want your team to face the Yankees? I hate the Yankees. I wanted to see that matchup again.

The best television shows have a hero and a villain. Lost has the losties and The Others. 24 has CTU and terrorists. Chuck has Chuck and Tang (and the real bad guys). Damages has Patty Hewes and Ted Danson’s character. Okay, so neither of them are “good,” but you get the picture.

I guarantee ratings for the ALCS are lower. Well, maybe not, since the start times are actually quite reasonable. They’ll probably see a spike because people can actually stay up and watch most of the games now. But the ALCS series doesn’t have the drawing power that it had in 2004. And that makes Tony Maz happy.

"It's on me," he said. "Whatever blame you put on me," he said, "that's fine. The most courageous group of guys," he said, "that I've ever played with."

Courageous? That’s BS. What makes them courageous? And sorry, as much as I hate ARod, this wasn’t his fault. How about the rest of the offense, which was atrocious in the entire series. ARod actually had 4 hits in the final 2 games, while Hero Jeter did nothing but ground into double plays in key situations.

Here's all you need to know about why the Yankees are 4-13 in their past 17 postseason games: in that stretch their starting pitchers are 2-8 with a 6.36 ERA while averaging 4 2/3 innings per start. Two wins from starting pitchers in 17 games, none in which they completed seven innings. The lack of pitchers who can give them length or the ability to strike out batters -- they averaged 5.9 strikeouts per nine innings -- killed them more than anything else.

Monday, October 08, 2007

I've posted here several times that Jose Mota is impossible to understand. "Come on," you say, "He can't be that bad!" Well, here is video proof that Jose Mota is hard to understand. He does okay until about halfway through, then he loses it. I have no clue what he says except when he says Willits. (From Red Sox Monster)

Clemens is the kid who showed up at your playground with a ball when you really needed one. You let him play only because he had the ball. Then, when he started losing or things went against him, he took his ball and went home. We all hated That Kid when we were on the playground.

He hasn't changed. Now, though, he fakes an injury and limps off the field, claiming he tweaked his hammy or the wind was blowing too hard. Take your ball and go home, Roger.

Red Sox Monster has a compilation of pictures from yesterday’s celebration. It looks like it was a lot of fun, but I think it’s a little excessive after winning just the ALDS. I was impressed at how subdued they were on the field after the game – just taking care of business, moving on to the ALCS.

Now I see, though, that they were just restraining themselves, waiting for the real celebration. I think it’s a bit much, but that’s just me. What does everyone else think? And what do you think about that Mike Lowell/Eric Hinske photo? Yikes.

Check out the article and I highly recommend bookmarking Posnanski's blog - he's always a great read. Some call him The Next Bill Simmons, and I can't disagree with that. Anyway, he makes a strong case for Beckett.

Check out these numbers from Bobby Tresca of Newton, Mass., heading into Curt Schilling's Game 3 start against the Angels: In his 15 postseason starts, Schilling is 8-2 with a 2.06 ERA, which is amazing. But if you look at his five no-decisions, it's even more impressive. 1. 1993 NLCS Game 1He leaves after eight innings with a 3-2 lead, and Mitch Williams blows the save. 2. 1993 NLCS Game 5He leaves after eight-plus innings with a 3-0 lead, and Williams blows the save. 3. 2001 World Series Game 4He leaves after seven innings with 3-1 lead, and Byung-Hyun Kim blows the save. 4. 2001 World Series Game 7He pitches 7 1/3 innings, allows two earned runs and gets a no-decision (one run was an Alfonso Soriano home run on a pitch that seemed a foot short of the plate). 5. 2002 NLCS Game 2He pitches seven innings, allows one earned run and gets a no-decision.

Friday, October 05, 2007

Not much noteworthy here. I stopped taking notes at 11:50 when I started chatting with a friend about the game. Our chat was really comical, so I thought I'd paste it into a blog entry until I read back through it and realized how stupid we are. Onto the thoughts:

Jose Mota: still incomprehensible.

Was it just me, or was the commentator's voice echoing during the first inning?

I'm really getting sick of Frank Caliendo now. I don't think there's ever been a quicker change of opinion for me. It took me nearly ten years to realize Bill Simmons is a hack. It took me 3 days to get fed up with Caliendo. Well done, sir.

During the first inning, one of the announcers said that the Angels really want to get Daisuke's pitch count up. Well, duh. Isn't that the goal with every pitcher? Except it's less so with him, because he threw 250 pitches one game! Take that! So anyway, the other announcer starts baiting this announcer, asking him how many pitches he thinks Daisuke can go and the first says, "He could probably go into the 120s." Well, yeah. Most good starters can. This isn't a revelation. So the other announcer, still baiting, says, "Well, doesn't he have a history of throwing a lot of pitches per start? Especially in Japan, where they throw a lot more complete games?" Pause. The first announcer then goes on to point out the extra rest Daisuke gets in Japan between starts and says "The Red Sox started giving him 3-4 extra days of rest between starts during September." Huh? I remember one time before his last start that he had 8 days of rest, but it wasn't a pattern. They were setting up for the playoffs.

It's 12:40. This game has to end soon. I'm dying. This is way too late for an old man (28) like me.

Another fantastic game (well, any Yankee loss is a fantastic game) and a phenomenal pitching performance from Fausto. Some random thoughts:

Much was made of the fact that the Indians had zero ("ZERO!" according to one analyst) home runs against Andy Pettitte, but they never mention how many at-bats they've totaled against him. Well, I'm here to enlighten you. They do have 107 at-bats against Pettitte, which is a decent sample size, but the only guys with more than 9 are Kenny Lofton and Chris Gomez, two guys who don't hit many home runs anyway. So this is just another case of sensational journalism.

I think it was Tony Gwynn who said one of the Indians hitters was "just looking for something to jerk."

What exactly is the premise of Frank TV? Does he just do impressions the whole time? I love Frank Caliendo, but that would get old very quickly. And his Dr Phil impression is not good. Mine is much better. "You NEED... to STOP... EATING!!"

It was actually fun watching Pettitte. I love a good pitchers duel and this definitely qualified. Especially when Sizemore had the leadoff triple and Pettitte got out of it, followed by a big fist pump. I love that.

On The Big Jab today, their afternoon moron was talking about game 3 and how Clemens is a "big game pitcher." Naturally, I scoffed. But I looked it up and he's right. Roger's ERA goes from 4.36 in the LDS to 3.87 in the LCS to 2.37 in the World Series. Damn him.

Top of the 9th, Abreu steals second, one of the announcers says (very excitedly, obviously a Yankee fan), "And the winning run at 2nd base!" Well, no. It's the potential winning run, or the go-ahead run. There's still the home half of the inning. This announcer hopefully knows that if Abreu scores in the top half of the 9th, the game doesn't end.

I loved seeing Johnny Damon being called in to cover first base instead of leaving his gimpy arm in left field. This guy's making how much money to play center field? And he can't play center, he can't play left in tough situations, and he's way too sucky to be a first baseman. Good luck trying to unload that contract this offseason. By the way, I'm right-handed and when I throw with my left, it looks the same as when Johnny throws. Maybe he is actually right-handed and he just never tried to throw with his right? Imagine if he tried one day and he was able to throw a bullet from the wall to home?

Bottom of the 11th, bases loaded, Asdrubal Cabrera up for the Indians. They show a close-up of him and my wife asks the important question, "Why is he wearing pearls?"